friend so hard that she nearly knocked the wind out of Lydia. “I would try. Really I would, but thank you so much for not making me get on a plane.”
“Frankly, between your being afraid of flying, death, claustrophobia, heights, spiders, and God knows what else, I don’t think we’d survive the flight,” Lydia reasoned. “I was thinking this might be a good chance for us to reconnect by spending some time together. I miss y’all. Even if this turns out to be a dead end, I have to try. Besides, it’s a good time for me to get away. I can hardly stand to be in this big, empty house right now,” Lydia said.
“You know who would be a great help…” Julia said.
“Don’t start,” Lydia warned.
“Look, I know you’re still mad at her, but you can’t stay mad forever,” Sonya reasoned.
“Why not?” Lydia countered.
“Well, for one thing, it’s not very CGF-like behavior. For another, at a time like this you need all your friends,” Julia said.
“Hmm. With friends like Liz Goldberg, who needs enemies?” Lydia asked.
“She explained everything and apologized, too. I admit that she should have talked to you first, but she didn’t. Maybe she was wrong. She didn’t think so, but once she found out how angry you were, she called the whole thing off. That’s got to count for something,” Julia said.
“And should I just get over her missing my mother’s funeral, too?” Lydia asked.
“Yes! She got stuck in another country. There was a revolution. The rebels took over the country and shut down the airport!” Sonya interjected.
“Even if she couldn’t help it back then, what’s her excuse now?” Lydia demanded.
“I don’t know, but I bet she has a good reason. You know Liz. No matter what her shortcomings are, she’s always there for her friends,” Sonya said.
“Except when she’s not,” Lydia said. “I’m upset enough as it is. I don’t want to talk about Liz.”
“I understand. It’s just that with her network of sources and investigative skills as a journalist, I’m sure that Liz will have some ideas on how to get more information on the mysterious Mr. Miller,” Sonya said.
“We’ll just have to manage without her. So if you guys are game, I’ll put this plan into motion.”
“Sign me up,” Sonya said.
“Me too,” Julia echoed.
It was no wonder that Lydia was having trouble sleeping. She was consumed with guilt. As soon as Julia and Sonya had agreed to help her, Lydia should have told them everything. They had a right to know. After all, they loved the island as much as she did. In a way, it belonged to all of them. But Lydia couldn’t bring herself to reveal the full extent of David’s betrayal, especially after how hard she’d come down on Liz over Sanctuary Island.
She could have forgiven her for missing her mother’s funeral but not for exploiting the Gullah and the Sanctuary. After rehashing all of that tonight, how could she reveal what David had done? It was even worse than what Liz had planned to do. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. It was just too terrible.
Lydia had spoken at length with David’s boss. He had explained that the Great Recession had taken a terrible toll on business. They had lost some important clients and even faithful clients had reduced their orders. His boss didn’t want to lose him but had offered him a good reference if he found a better job elsewhere. According to his co-workers, he had looked, but there wasn’t much available given the economic climate.
But why hadn’t he just told her? Pride? Or was he trying to protect her? Or maybe he was just trying to protect himself? Whatever his reason, he had left her in a mess. Her only hope was to find this mystery man and recover the money. If she could prove that David was under duress when he made the loan or was swindled or that there had been a fraud perpetuated; anything that she could take to the state attorney general to prompt an
“Frankly, between your being afraid of flying, death, claustrophobia, heights, spiders, and God knows what else, I don’t think we’d survive the flight,” Lydia reasoned. “I was thinking this might be a good chance for us to reconnect by spending some time together. I miss y’all. Even if this turns out to be a dead end, I have to try. Besides, it’s a good time for me to get away. I can hardly stand to be in this big, empty house right now,” Lydia said.
“You know who would be a great help…” Julia said.
“Don’t start,” Lydia warned.
“Look, I know you’re still mad at her, but you can’t stay mad forever,” Sonya reasoned.
“Why not?” Lydia countered.
“Well, for one thing, it’s not very CGF-like behavior. For another, at a time like this you need all your friends,” Julia said.
“Hmm. With friends like Liz Goldberg, who needs enemies?” Lydia asked.
“She explained everything and apologized, too. I admit that she should have talked to you first, but she didn’t. Maybe she was wrong. She didn’t think so, but once she found out how angry you were, she called the whole thing off. That’s got to count for something,” Julia said.
“And should I just get over her missing my mother’s funeral, too?” Lydia asked.
“Yes! She got stuck in another country. There was a revolution. The rebels took over the country and shut down the airport!” Sonya interjected.
“Even if she couldn’t help it back then, what’s her excuse now?” Lydia demanded.
“I don’t know, but I bet she has a good reason. You know Liz. No matter what her shortcomings are, she’s always there for her friends,” Sonya said.
“Except when she’s not,” Lydia said. “I’m upset enough as it is. I don’t want to talk about Liz.”
“I understand. It’s just that with her network of sources and investigative skills as a journalist, I’m sure that Liz will have some ideas on how to get more information on the mysterious Mr. Miller,” Sonya said.
“We’ll just have to manage without her. So if you guys are game, I’ll put this plan into motion.”
“Sign me up,” Sonya said.
“Me too,” Julia echoed.
It was no wonder that Lydia was having trouble sleeping. She was consumed with guilt. As soon as Julia and Sonya had agreed to help her, Lydia should have told them everything. They had a right to know. After all, they loved the island as much as she did. In a way, it belonged to all of them. But Lydia couldn’t bring herself to reveal the full extent of David’s betrayal, especially after how hard she’d come down on Liz over Sanctuary Island.
She could have forgiven her for missing her mother’s funeral but not for exploiting the Gullah and the Sanctuary. After rehashing all of that tonight, how could she reveal what David had done? It was even worse than what Liz had planned to do. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. It was just too terrible.
Lydia had spoken at length with David’s boss. He had explained that the Great Recession had taken a terrible toll on business. They had lost some important clients and even faithful clients had reduced their orders. His boss didn’t want to lose him but had offered him a good reference if he found a better job elsewhere. According to his co-workers, he had looked, but there wasn’t much available given the economic climate.
But why hadn’t he just told her? Pride? Or was he trying to protect her? Or maybe he was just trying to protect himself? Whatever his reason, he had left her in a mess. Her only hope was to find this mystery man and recover the money. If she could prove that David was under duress when he made the loan or was swindled or that there had been a fraud perpetuated; anything that she could take to the state attorney general to prompt an
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